December 2018

Final post of 2018!  That's hard to believe.  Here are a few pictures from our December...

Eli tested for his brown belt in karate at the beginning of December.  He has worked so hard in karate for years, and we're so proud of him.  The skills get harder with each belt, and we can't believe that he's only 4 belts away from being a BLACK belt!  

This was pre-test...

Jump kicks were part of skill set for this belt test!

After showing all his skills, sparring, and doing the public speaking portion of the test, here's our new BROWN BELT!

Another big event of December was the "Live Museum" at his school.  The 4th and 5th graders choose a historical figure, do a bunch of research on him/her, write a research paper, and then condense that research into a one-minute summary speech.  They dress up like their person and present their memorized speeches to everyone who "presses the button" to "wake them up."  It's a really great program that ties in so many skills- researching, writing, memorization, and public speaking.  All the kids worked so hard on it!  

Eli chose Jim Elliot as his person, and he did such a great job.

His first semester finished up with a fun class party.

We kicked off Christmas break with ice skating at the Galleria!

Eli took piano lessons this semester, and he had his first recital this month.  Though he was NOT excited about it, he was calm and cool.  His mother, on the other hand, was SO nervous for him!  :)  He did a fantastic job, and we're thankful for what he learned this semester.  He's switching from piano to guitar this semester; we'll see if guitar catches his interest more than piano.  :)

The Christmas break has been full of LOTS of playing outside, which is Eli's favorite thing in the world.  I love seeing what the boys come up with to do.  This was a "homemade dye" that they were mixing up on the front porch one day.  :)

Eric took me out to one of my favorite restaurants (Texas de Brazil) for my birthday, and to see a movie.

On Christmas Eve, the Heinzes came over to play games and eat a fancy dinner.  Here is Hank in his new coat.  :)

We played a few funny games and had a blast.

Christmas Eve night!  Santa came!  :)

 

Christmas morning, bright and early!  We always love Christmas morning with just the three of us.  We open gifts, eat homemade cinnamon rolls, and enjoy just being together.

After the present opening... 

After that, we went over to my parents' house with the rest of the family for more gift-opening together.  It was, as always, chaotic and noisy and perfect!

After playing and resting on Christmas afternoon, we made a big dinner and enjoyed it all together.

And that wraps up all the pictures I have for this year!  We've enjoyed this last week of the year, resting and relaxing and being home together.  I LOVE this week and am slightly sad to get back to our routine of school and work on Wednesday!  But we're excited about all that the Lord has in store for us in 2019.  

Happy New Year, with love!